I’m going to start off with the good parts of this drama aka the parts that can pass off as decent.
- The cinematography
The scenes were shot beautifully, everything was grand and extravagant as expected of well, a king and his palace. I might even go as far to call this a cinematic masterpiece if not for the dry, non-existent plot. But for now, I digress. (I will delve into that soon).
- The casting
Let’s face it, the casting was easy on the eyes and the main reason why most of us kept watching this boring ass show. Because in the end, we’re just humans who want to see pretty faces. Lee Min Ho was enough a justification for me to click this show but Kim Go Eun as well? No shit I decided to stick to the end. I have loved her since watching her appearance in Goblin and I must say I adored her character in this series because she was a badass cop with a backbone. I’m not a fan of woo do hwan but he was the only one who showed real versatility in the roles played here, him acting as a serious bodyguard and then taking a whole 360 with his other role. Kudos to his superb acting skills. The rest of the cast were perfect and their acting was on point. If there’s one thing I’m not complaining about, it’s the cast.

Now, it’s time to get down to business about why exactly despite the stellar cast and brilliant cinematography, I gave this drama a withering 4/10 stars.

- The plot or lack thereof
Okay, the idea of parallel worlds and doppelgänger sold the show AT THE START. It was what made me click besides LMH and KGE and it was what made me finish that first episode. Great start with the history of this magical flute that had to potential to connect both worlds. Yay, sitting on the edge of my seat. Well, until LMH started to get on his horse and trod into the other world. The first thing he said to KGE was literally something like “finally, I have seen you.” or some shit. Cue the swooning and fangirling because wow this handsome dude i’ve literally never seen my whole life is now hugging me?!?! After that, what happened from ep2 to like 11 was literally nothing but him travelling back and forth, flirting and dating and using that half broken flute to return to his kingly duties. I’m not even sure when the romance started because there was no slow-burn, no tension and NO CHEMISTRY. The next thing I knew, they were kissing and saying cheesy things. I don’t even want to talk about that over-the-top, dramatic scene where his whole troop of bodyguards went to save KGE, the crying damsel in distress. It was ultimately, a waste of bloody resources.
The ending was confusing to say at least. I spent many episodes wondering who was the one who saved LMH when he almost got killed by his uncle on the night of the treason…only to find out it was LMH himself from the future. BOOM mind-blown. Was that the expected response?

K. More like poor, convoluted plot and a pathetic attempt to salvage an already broken storyline. And if you think about it, LMH from the future gave LMH in the past an ID card with KGE’s face on it so that LMH in the future would find her? Seriously. But anyway, the most messed up part was when he literally opened all the doors to the universe to find KGE. Hey, I get it all you romantics like this kind of stuff but at this point, it’s just getting tiring… This drama was just 90% romance and 10% fantasy where the action ONLY PICKED UP AT EPISODE 16 OR SO. All the times when LMH approached his uncle the traitor, they only had dramatic eye contact before he let him slip away. And then somehow, he managed to catch him so smoothly towards the end? I would’ve liked to have seen the uncle outsmart LMH given how that’s what he’s been doing all along. Quite disappointing for a villain.

- The romance
Was there chemistry? I’m pretty sure they already got together during the first ep. I loved KGE’s badass cop character at the start but afterwards…I’m pretty sure it’s not her acting but more of the character she needed to play…she became dry and just lovesick throughout. The whole time she was waiting for him and then crying when he finally came. The dramatic scene at the end of ep11 (I think) where she waited for him, crying in the middle of the road was over exaggerated. And to be realistic, if LMH was really a king, how could he even have time to travel between both worlds and how did no one impeach him for neglecting his duties? Unless head court Lady Noh did all his work for him while he was busy playing boyfriend with KGE. There was no swoon worthy moments for me, not even that neck kiss which was overhyped. Seriously, it was just a brief peck on the neck. And the cooking scenes where he wore his navy uniform? I’m sorry, I skipped it because it was way too cringe. By the way, I think it was ep 4/5? When they confessed their love for each other despite the fact that their only interactions being limited to the chicken restaurant? Alright, people fall in love fast sometimes but i did not see that coming :)

- The place where time doesn’t exist

They just wasted time filming a balloon and an empty vacuum of space. Nothing happened there except when LMH brought KGE there to gush and show off his brainiac knowledge. Oh, and I guess the part where the traitor died there and KGE was trapped inside for a while. Other than those parts, nah.

- Who saved me? Future me??
I’ll never stop. This plot twist had no twist and was just, just—Maybe because I don’t quite understand it but I say for sure that i know i won’t be the only one who didn’t grasp that concept. You know why? There was NO EXPLANATION WHATSOEVER. Then again, what sort of explanation could they possibly come up with to support this wacko theory? Physics? Alright.

I’m done here. Please, watch this show if you’re looking for a cheesy royal romance because rest assured, it’s the only one with a high budget and a stellar cast. But really, don’t even waste your time to finish this drama because I can assure you, you’re not missing out on anything but a measly neck kiss ;)